Exam 6: Air Pressure and Winds

Instructions: Choose one answer from each pair of selections. Surface winds blow in toward the center of LOW | HIGH pressure areas.

The surface air around a strengthening low pressure area normally ____, while, above the system, the air normally ____.

The force that causes the wind to blow is the ____.

A ridge on an upper-air isobaric chart indicates ____.

The net force acting on air which is blowing parallel to straight contours at constant speed is ____.

Cyclonic flow means ____ in either the Northern or Southern Hemisphere.

The Coriolis force will change the wind's direction, but cannot change its speed.

Two parcels of air with the same volume and temperature will also always have the same pressure.

A surface low pressure center is generally associated with ____ on an upper-air isobaric chart.

When the upward-directed pressure gradient force is in balance with the downward pull of gravity, the atmosphere is in ____.

On an upper-air chart, normally we find warm air associated with ____ pressure, and cold air associated with ____ pressure.

Although many scientists have contributed to our understanding of why the wind blows, who stands out as making particularly significant contributions? When did this scientist live? Describe the two most important laws of motion proposed by this scientist.

The force that causes the wind to deflect off its intended path is the ____.

The atmosphere around the earth would rush off into space if the vertical pressure gradient force were not balanced by ____.

The surface pressures at the bases of warm and cold columns of air are equal. Air pressure in the warm column of air will ____ with increasing height ____ than in the cold column.

What does it mean when air is said to be in hydrostatic equilibrium?

We can generally expect the air to be ____ above areas of surface low pressure and ____ above areas of surface high pressure.

Two air columns extend from sea level up to an altitude of 10 km. If one column is cold and the other is warm, the air pressure in the cold column will ____ the air pressure in the warm column.

The scale on an altimeter indicates altitude, but an altimeter actually measures ____.

How can wind direction and pressure patterns aloft be estimated visually from the ground?